There are different techniques for steering or guiding a projectile during flight. For example, guided projectiles can be fin-stabilized or spin-stabilized and can use internal and/or external air-actuated control methods. As used herein guided projectiles include, but are not limited to, bullets, artillery projectiles (e.g. shells and shots), and tube-launched missiles. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) EXtreme ACcuracy Tasked Ordinance (EXACTO) project and the United States Army's Excalibur artillery projectile are examples of systems which use guided projectiles.
Typical guided projectiles which use internal air-actuated control methods include a chemical gas generator which is responsible for generating pressurized gas. The pressurized gas is then released through one or more orifices in the projectile to adjust the trajectory of the projectile. However, the chemicals used to generate the gas have a limited shelf-life which means that the guided projectile must either be used or replaced periodically. In addition, the components necessary for generating the pressurized gas and controlling the amount of pressure of the generated gas can be costly.